Monochrome Nails: Tattoo-Inspired Manicure Ideas To Try At Home

#ManicureMonday: Tattoo-Inspired Monochrome Nails

Monochrome nail ideas are inspired by everything from paintings and pop art, to nature and ancient symbols... but this tattoo-inspired manicure is the coolest we've seen so far.

A photo posted by Maddy Ayers (@maadnails) on

East London-based freelance nail artist Maddy Ayers (Maad Nails) told HuffPost UK Style how to get the look in four simple steps:

1. For this monochrome look, start off (as always!) with a base coat – here I went for Bourjois.

2. Then paint all fingers white, except the middle one which will be black. I used two Essie polishes for this – Blanc and Licorice. Make sure you apply a couple of coats to give an even colour.

3. Using a striper brush or nail art pen, you can then start adding your designs (paint your designs in black for the white nails and vice versa). These patterns were inspired by Tati Compton’s stick and poke tattoos and are fun to mix and match, so pick your faves and go with those!

For any straight lines, use a striper with a small amount of polish on it and angle it almost flat along the nail. This way, following the natural line of the brush will keep it neat, so you don’t need to worry about shaky hands. For dots, use either the nib end of a nail art pen or a dotting tool (you can pick these up really cheaply online).

4. Once your designs are complete, cover with a thick layer of top coat (I like China Glaze for this). Then add a load of gold rings, and you’re good to go!

Miss Ladyfinger

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